Draft Season | Chad Reuter and Offensive Risers and Sliders

The guys talk about the biggest risers and sliders in the college football recently and discuss this past weekend’s, and upcoming, college games.

:00 - Ohio State vs Penn State

8:30 - Quarterbacks

21:45 - Running backs

28:10 - Tight ends

34:50 - Wide receivers

42:25 - Offensive line

49:00 - Upcoming games this weekend

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
It is now officially open.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is Draft Season presented by Moodies John Schmulck with
you as always, Tony Pauline my co host, and this
week we're gonna be joined by Chad Ryder, who does
a great job putting together all of the NFL dot
Com slast Draft Tracker, which is the go to thing
whenever you're looking up draft prospects in the spring.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Chad, hope you're doing well, man, And how's that coming along?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Great, it's a draft season is coming upon us here
and I love it, you know, it's it's great. I
love talking to you guys.

Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah, thank you, Just sorry, John. Jed's one of my oldest,
oldest friends in the business. I mean, I've known Chad
for about twenty years. Granted we only see each other
occasionally at the shrine ball occasion to see your ball
always at the combine. But I've known Chad back in
the days when he was working for CBS Sports many
moons ago, when we both had hair.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
It's been a lot time.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yeah, it's been a long time that any of us
had hair here.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
But yes, chi Chat has an encyclopedic knowledge of pass drafts.
In this draft class, that it will be really good
to talk about, to talk to him about everything going on.
Later on in the show, we're going to go through
Tony's riders and the sliders on the offensive side of
the ball in this year's draft class, and we'll look
at the next week's games. But first I want to
go through what happened last week, Tony, and the one
game you will want to focus on is a game

(01:22):
that again before the year, we had this game circle
this Penn State, you know, being one of the top
ranked teams ken Ohio State. You know, can they finally
get over the hill in the Big Ten and beat
teams like Ohio State and Michigan. Obviously, Penn State season
is falling apart, but there were still a lot of
really fun matchups. In that matchup last week, there was
I think.

Speaker 4 (01:41):
It was a game where two programs going in different
directions and prospects on both teams going in different directions.
Drew Shelton, who I know we'll talk about later on.
I mean, the pass blocking left tackle just got victimized
at the entire game by Avril Reach by Kenjetta Jackson.
I don't think he's really all that well is here.
I had high hopes for him. He's more of a

(02:03):
Fashanu type left tackle. Ironically, an athletic guy, fundamentally sound,
but I mean doesn't show a killer instinct, which really
concerns me. He does not guy who really wants to
bury opponents into the ground, and it showed on Saturday
when he was victimized multiple times the guard Ione when
we had Mike Renner on. Mike Renner had him as

(02:24):
a top fifty pick. I like Ioni, but I like
him more as a maybe late third, early fourth round guy.
He's the opposite of show. He's strong, he's wide, he
plays with nacy attitude, but he's also stiff and you
have to play him in a small area, and again
he was getting beaten by quick inside moves. Doesn't show

(02:45):
the ability to block on the second level. He gets
out in space and he's looking around. I think both
of those guys really struggled as compared to the Ohio
State guys. I mean, Avrol Reese, he just seems to
get better, not even every week, every series of downs,
he seems to get better, whether it's rushing the quarterback,
whether it's playing in space, and his pass rush ability

(03:06):
has really impressed me this year because coming in the
season I looked at him as more of an off
the ball linebacker. Obviously, Ohio State didn't need him to
rush the passer last year with Jack Sawyer and JT.
Twoey Miloa. Well, he's filled in this year really well
as a pass rushing linebacker who can also play in
the space. I also think we're coming to see we're

(03:27):
seeing the coming of age of Kenetta Jackson, the big
athletic defensive end from Ohio State who played sparingly last year.
He's been relied more on as the starter this year.
You saw him Saturday against Penn State. He's a game changer.
He's a guy who can rush the passer. He's got
an inside move, he can get out in space to
make plays. I thought it was really the tail of

(03:48):
not only two teams, but two sets of prospects, the
Ohio State guys who are moving into the first round
and moving up the first round, and the Penn State
players who are moving in reverse.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Your thoughts on the game, Chad.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, you know, it's funny. We don't even have to
talk about Caleb Downs, the safety, because the front seven
is making all the plays for them, and Downs is
an excellent players. He's a top ten guy, but Reese
has been so good. Reese and Jackson were on my
list of guys to kind of watch coming into the
year among the underclassmen. And Reee now it's a matter of, Okay,

(04:25):
is he even an off ball linebacker? Is he making
the part the Micah Parsons switch to an edge player
rather than the off ball linebacker. And I think teams
like Carolina in the in the top ten, they could
be thinking about that. And I think he's gonna be
really to me, he's sort of like I think Will
McDonald's a little overdrafted and and Reese is gonna have

(04:48):
similar size McDonald, But I think Reese plays the run
a lot better and I think he's gonna be a
you know, legitimate top ten guy, and he's just a
lot of fun to watch. We don't talk about Caleb Downs.
Sonny Styles is an excellent linebacker. This guy's a top
fifty pick all day long. We don't even have to
talk about him because of what Reese is doing. The
guys up front, Caden McDonald, the junior defensive tackles been

(05:11):
excellent against the run. I mean he's a He's a
potential first round pick too. Ohio State just keeps rebuilt, reloading, reloading,
bring him back up. So there's there were so many
guys that you could watch in that matchup that just
outclassed Penn State in every way. And it's you know,
clearly they're the number one team in the country.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
You know, Chad, We're gonna touch on a little bit
later on, but I want to get your take on
Carnell Tate and I'll kind of throw this at you.
I always warned people about helmet scouting, where you're to
compare a player at a position to a former player
at that position that went to the school. Well he
didn't work out, this guy's not gonna work out. But
I gotta be honest at this point. If I'm designed
with two two wide receivers and one of them went
to Ohio State just because of the way they're coached

(05:54):
up there, I'm gonna pick the Ohio State wide receiver.
When's the last High state wide receiver that did not work?
I mean, they just produce NFL caliber wide receivers and
Tate's gonna be another one. And then Jeremiah Smith the
next year is gonna be a top three pick. It's unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah. Well, the first mind that the first name that
comes to mind for that is David Boston didn't quite
turn out as we expect. That's a long time ago.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
Mostly, Yeah, but he at least he had a couple
of dominant un though, right he did, he did.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
But hey, look, you don't want a helmet scout. But
it's really tough to ignore the success of certain programs,
and certainly Ohio state wide receivers is part of that
a lot of you know, I projected Amika Buka as
a top twenty pick for a while because I really
loved people will in. Another name I'll say is Justin Jefferson.

(06:41):
And there are guys that get pigeonholed as slot guys
because they end up playing there in college. Jackson Smith
and Jig was another guy you're asked to do a
certain thing. You've got Jeremiah Smith on the outside for
Ohio State, and Cardinal Tate has now kind of moved
into that. But just because a guy plays a certain
role in college doesn't mean he can't be more in
the NFL. And I think Tate could be that kind

(07:03):
of guy that that even is better at the next
level is than he is in college. And I'm gonna
keep rolling with Ohio State eyes until I'm proven otherwise,
I think at this point.

Speaker 4 (07:15):
So and you know you got the other thing is
is that Penn State secondary Aj Harris and Zion Tracy,
the corners, Kai Wheatley the safety. That's a good secondary.
Those guys are going to be drafted. He was he
was playing against a JV team, which I think really
helps Carnell Tate. And you know, you talk about twenty

(07:35):
you talk about Jeremiah Smith being a top three pick
in twenty twenty seven, the quarterback, saying could be the
first pick in twenty twenty eight if he keeps going
to wage.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
And by the way, Max Claire the tight end, barely
gets looked at, and he was so good at Purdue.
I was really looking. He's so talented that he may
not even you know, should be able to show us
stuff this year because of all the other talent around him.
So they're just loaded, they're sloding.

Speaker 4 (08:02):
Not just their their top next level prospects. You know,
Claire came into the season with even though he's under
classroom with high grade from scouts who project him, you know,
as a potential second round pick. So if he falls
a little bit, if he decides to engine the draft,
you know you're still going to get a late Day

(08:24):
two player, Day two prospect who has outstanding potential.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
On Sunday, Moodies is a proud part of the New
York Giants Decode Risk, Unlock Opportunity. Learn more at Moodies
dot com. Okay, now it's time to take a look
at the risers and sliders that Tony likes to do
every week as he tracks the draft. Chat is kind
enough to join us and kind of give his take
on Tony's guys, give some of his own of guys

(08:50):
that have either really helped their draft stock from where
they stood last summer and the guys that maybe have
not helped themselves as much.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
And Tony, we'll start at the quarterbacks here.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
A couple of these guys we talked about a lot,
so you can kind of breeze over him if you want.
But who are the quarterbacks that you think have really
helped themselves so far this year?

Speaker 4 (09:08):
Well, obviously Ty Simpson, who potentially, if the draft were
held today, could be the first quarterback taken. Despite the
fact He's only started what eight or nine games in
his college career, He's making a lot of NFL passes.
He's really got that Alabama offense moving looks like a
next level passer, as does Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, who
I think again has really reacted well to the coaching

(09:29):
at Indiana and the Kurt Signetti. Anybody watches this show
knows he's my favorite coach pro or college in the
land for two years now, and I think Mendoza's finally
starting to realize the potential everybody thought he had. Everyone
thought he had. Oluis doesn't. He's not made as many
NFL type passes, not many in as many NFL type
situations as Ty Simpson. I think because Indiana just hasn't

(09:54):
been in many close games. I mean, they've blown out
their opponents. So I think those two guys are at
the head of the pack. And then I'm gonna go
with Dante Moore. You know, with Dylan Gabriel leaving Oregon
last year becoming what a third round pick for the
Cleveland Browns, you didn't know what was going to what
they were going to get at the quarterback position. Dante
Moore slides right in. I think he's helped himself. I'm

(10:17):
not as high on Dante Moore as others are. I
like him, I still think he's got a lot of
areas of his game that he's got to brush up. Also,
not the biggest guy in the world. But again, I
mean three months ago, four months ago, I don't think
anybody was talking about Dante Moore as a top forty
five pick, potential first rounder. And that's what you're looking

(10:38):
at today.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
To that, any thoughts on those guys or anyone else
that you have on your list of that guys that
have really helped themselves at the quarterback position so far.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Yeah, I think those are the top three guys right now.
I'm with Tony on all of that. Dante Moore didn't
look great against Indiana, so that's kind of knocked him
down a little bit. I wouldn't wouldn't you know, wouldn't
be eyes or wouldn't be hurt if he decided to
come back another year or two and and you know,
kind of take his stock because you know, he he

(11:08):
didn't get to play last year, you know, injury and
kind of waiting his turn and stuff. So but yeah,
those would be my three top guys to Jade Mayava
from US. He is interesting. I think he could probably
use another year with Lincoln Riley. But he's another guy
that's you know, could work himself into that conversation as

(11:28):
the season goes on, potentially, But we'll talk about some
sliders here who have who have left the room for
guys like Dante More and Maava to to kind of
stuff in there, and Simpson for that matter.

Speaker 4 (11:38):
You know, it's funny you mentioned my Alba because I
think Bilden Wass has done a darn good job at
Louisville this year, and you know my Alba with his
accuracies all over the place.

Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (11:49):
Really, Since that comeback against Pittsburgh, I think has improved
his stock in the in the eyes of scouts. Came
into the season greated as a late render. May have
moved himself up into the middle rounds because of the consistency.
It's not wowing everybody. He's not having three passing games
every week, but he hasn't needed three hundred oard passing games.

(12:10):
He's doing enough to help the Louisville Cardinals, who, by
the way, one of the best teams, not the best
team in the a SEC right now battling for a
playoff Berth. I think he's helped to stop Trinidad Chambliss.
John and I have talked about him a couple of times,
at least the past couple of weeks. I mean, here's
a guy who goes from you know, unknown first State Division,

(12:32):
what two unknown to now He's a late round draftable
guy and someone I think a lot of people are
missing the mark on. Cole Peyton of North Dakota Day
comes into the season as an undrafted free agent. I
think right now has solidified himself as a solid Day
three pick. He's big, he's got pocket passer size, he's athletic,

(12:54):
he's got a real good arm. Hopefully we'll see Peyton
in one of the postseason all star games, Shrine Buller Bowl,
where he can really impress scouts and improve his draft stock.

Speaker 3 (13:04):
Absolutely, and Bryce Lance to me, that guy, the wide receiver,
Trey Lance's brother, North Dakota State. We'll see how he runs.
But he's in that you know, top fifty mix. So
Peyton and Lance have really looked good this year.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
All right, then, Tony, when you look at your sliders list,
it basically has all the guys that were projected as
first round picks before the season started and now they're
not anymore.

Speaker 4 (13:29):
And you gotta start with Leonora Sellers. I mean, he
was my favorite guy. He was a guy who don't
want to be redundant. But in August I tweeted out,
if the draft were held today, I'm taking Leonora Sells
with the first pick of the draft. His game is
leveled off. In fact, it's probably regressed in some areas.
And I think, really right now, from where we sit,
Lenora sells best game plan is to return to college
next year. You know, maybe South Carolina, maybe not South Carolina,

(13:53):
maybe if tys Simpson goes to the NFL, he takes
an NL deal to go to Alabama where he's gonna
get great quarterback coaching as we've seen, you know, with
Michael Panis at Washington and with ty Simpson now at
Alabama with the offensive coordinator moving over there. So obviously
you got to start with Lenora Sellers. Sam Levitt, I
was never really high on struggled during the season. He's

(14:15):
had a season ending injury. I think he's gone from
a potential Day two pick two. He's got to return
next year. Kate Clubnick has really fallen off a cliff.
I mean, Kay club Nick was not well liked in
the scouting community. Was not how he thought of I
should say, in the scouting community. I like a lot
of other people really liked him, especially after the twenty
twenty four film. But I think Kay Clubnick has shown

(14:36):
that twenty twenty four has been the exception to the rule.
I don't think they've helped him that much at Clemson.
Don't have a great running game, don't have a great
a developing receiver. Corps you will, but I think club
Nick scouts will run on this. Club Nick is a
Day three guy at best. Drew a Lar We've talked
about him before in the show. Where's he going to go?
I mean people thought first round, possibly Day two likely.

(14:58):
I mean Drew Alar right now out of the platform
or soon to be former Penn State quarterback and he's
on the sidelines. I'm gonna play the rest of the
year with injury. I mean, what are you looking at
right now with jewel or maybe a fifth round pick.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
Yeah, I like he could be in that Jacob Easton category,
kind of early fourth. Maybe somebody takes a shot at him.
In the third. I mean, look, you know, despite of everything,
Penn State quarterbacks you know, can can can maybe go
a little higher. I'm not gonna get into one particular
one that ended up with the Jets that that I

(15:32):
didn't really like. The Christian Hattenberg went in the second round,
So you never know some of these guys. But I
think he's in that Easton category right now, that that
fourth you know, that early Day three guy, you know,
based on the saying yeah, and I agree with the
other guys you've talked about Sellers, he doesn't have a
very good pass protection offensive line right now. They're not
bad as a run blocking group. But and Nick Harber,

(15:55):
another guy who's got first route potential, just hasn't. He's
got three TD's last three weeks, so I mean, you
can make plays with them. But like he's a size
speed guy. He's got elite speed, but you know, he
hasn't helped Sellers as much either. So both those guys
could probably use with another year in South Carolina somewhere else,
and you know, to before they go to the next level.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
Chad, what do you think ultimately this quarterback class looks
like when we get to the drafted April Tonin obviously
talk about it a lot at Quarterbacks are always the
headliner for the Dragton it looks like the Giants might
have found their guy for the future.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
What do you think this looks like?

Speaker 2 (16:30):
How many go in the first Are we gonna get
like the top three pick gon to be a quarterback?

Speaker 1 (16:33):
What do you think this eventually looks like?

Speaker 3 (16:35):
You know, it's gonna be very interesting. A guy that
we haven't talked about yet is Garrett and Us Meyer,
and he's got a big, you know game coming up
here and we'll see if he can take the next step.
I think coaches and scouts will like him more than
people in the media have people from the outside because
he doesn't like you know, his oblique injuries maybe prevented
him from whipping the ball as hard as he can.

(16:57):
But I think he's coach's son, knows what to do.
He does make He makes some bad decisions, but the
ball comes out pretty quickly. I think he makes some good,
you know, some professional throws. So I think he might
be liked a little bit more in the league than
maybe in the media h this year, and so that's
gonna be an interesting guy. But otherwise maybe two to

(17:17):
three guys in the first and then you've got the
Club nicks O, the guys that'll be in the middle,
you know that potential backups. Carson Beck is another weird
one that he can look really good at times and
then he just makes poor decisions and you just don't
know what you're gonna get with him on a on
a play to play basis. So I think it's gonna
be a very interesting class with some guys going day

(17:39):
two that maybe were once predected Day one. And then
you've got you know, Jaden Craig from Harvard who is
a really interesting prospect day three kind of guy and
joining Club Nick and and you know Cole Payton some
of the other guys we've talked about. So it's gonna
be very interesting class. But I don't foresee four or
five in the first round or anything, or well five

(18:01):
or six in the first round.

Speaker 2 (18:02):
I want to ask both of you guys about this,
and Tony will start with you. I think if we
see more and Simpsons specifically come out, we're gonna start
having the debate. Is how important is it to have
you know, twenty plus starts, three plus starts. What are
we gonna look at as a college quarterback. How important
is experienced, Tony from your you guys have both a
vast experience doing this, So Tony, I'll start with you,

(18:24):
how much do you take that seriously? And how important
is just having a volume of college experience to kind
of give NFL front officers confidence that you're gonna be
able to step in early in your career and play well.

Speaker 4 (18:38):
It's incredibly important to me. I mean the Trey Lances
of the world, the Matt Jones of the world, these
guys have fallen flat on their face and they had
very limited bodies of work.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
And Tony, by the way, even a guy like Sam
Darnold who has now become good, I think it just
took him longer to become good because he didn't play
a lot of quarterback in high.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
School and college.

Speaker 4 (18:57):
I also think he finally got the right coaching in
Minnesota and now in Seattle, which has helped him. I mean,
I like body of work at all positions because you
could see the trajectory of a player, but I think
it's utterly important at the quarterback position. I also like
quarterbacks who are coming off a good year before they

(19:18):
enter the draft. I think if you look back at history,
a lot of these guys who enter the draft off
of a poor season at quarterback and quarterback, they really struggle.
Sometimes they don't get it back into gear. I mean,
I think it is utterly important. But listen, we live
in the day and age of instant gratification, instant results,
and you know, the body of work doesn't seem to

(19:40):
matter as much anymore, and you're expected to go in
once you're drafted in the top ten or the first round,
start week one and produce right away.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
Yeah, And I think what I like to say is
everything is something, but nothing is everything, meaning body of
work is great. But you know, Colt McCoy, Kellen Moore,
you know, I mean there's a there's a point where
traits have to come into play. Guys that have started
a ton of games aren't necessarily going to be NFL stars.

(20:14):
So I think you have to play that, you have
to take the body of work into account. But when
you talk to the college coaches, they'll say, hey, look,
this guy could have started for us two or three
years ago, but we had ex player in here and
we weren't going to you know, bench him for this guy.
So like a Ty Simpson, Were you gonna bench Jalen
Milroe in order to play him? Probably not, And that's

(20:37):
not his fault. Like if he would have been ready
to play, just because he didn't win that starting job
doesn't mean he wasn't necessarily ready to play last year.
So I think there's there's a factor B Yeah, and
it's it's difficult. Anthony Richardson is another, you know, pretty
good example. Maybe he just wasn't ready to play two
years ago. So you have to talk to the coaches,
find out the reason for his not playing, and then

(21:00):
you know, figure out how you you know, you push
that trajectory because like you said, Tony, we both know
that they're not finished products when they come out of college,
no matter how much they play, And you have to
be able to project. That's the whole point of scouting.
It's projecting where a guy's gonna end up. So guys
like Ty Simpson, I'm not worried about him not never
necessarily having a great, huge body of work. Dante More

(21:23):
I'm probably a little more worried about. But you know,
he's he was a five star kid coming out. It
wasn't surprised that he's talented, So it just depends on
the guy. But I would prefer Yeah, a couple of
years starting certainly would give me a lot more confidence
than a guy coming into the league.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
Yeah, it's just hard.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
You know, these guys don't get long leashes in the
other NFL anymore. You know, it's it's not a developmental
league the NFL. It's a production league, and you hope
the guys are as ready to go so they can
produce as quickly as possible when they get into the league.

Speaker 3 (21:54):
All right, let's go.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
Over to the running back position here, gentlemen and Tony.
Two of these we've talked about a little bit. One
maybe not so much. Who are the three running backs?
You have his risers in this year's class?

Speaker 4 (22:05):
Well, Justice Haines, we've talked about a lot. I know
he's been struggling with injury, but I mean after transferring
to Alabama, getting to that Michigan backfield, I mean you
can't stop him. Opponents cannot stop him, and Michigan really
can't throw the ball. So opponents have been loading the
box because and challenging Michigan wolf range to beat them
with the passing game. Because the passing game is so inconsistent,

(22:26):
yet they can't stop paints. He's an explosive guy. Run.
He beats the defenders to daylight. It beats defenders into
the open field, can run to daylight. Big play after
big play. I mean, what was it, five or six
seven games into the season, he had one hundred yards
rushing every game and Michigan was a rushing team because
they can't they couldn't pass the ball. He struggled with

(22:48):
some injuries in the past three or four weeks, but
still I think where you look at where he was
or he was projected to be in September compared to
where he is now as we move into November, I
think he significantly helped himself. I think Jadari Price just
by the fact that no one really knew a lot
about it. Everyone thought it was Jeremiah Love Jeremiah Love.
And they basically rotate the backs there. They give the

(23:09):
back each back the ball a lot. And I think
Jadarian Price, don't your Dame, has really helped himself, really
jumped onto the scouting radar with his play, and then
Hollywood smothers of North Carolina. North Carolina State, I known
when we had Mike renneran Renner liked him in his
top fifty. I'm a little bit a little bit lower

(23:29):
on him, but still I think he's in nhem Hines
if you remember him out of North Carolina State. He's
that type of back, kind of square, He's explosive, he's creative,
he can do a lot of different things. I don't
know that he's a feature runner, but again, someone we
really weren't talking about coming into the season, and now
you're looking at a late day two pick on my board.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
Anyway, Chad, your thoughts on those three and any other
running backs that have really kind of hit you watching
tape this year so far?

Speaker 3 (23:57):
Yeah, I feel the same justin s Hayines, you know,
before the injury, I thought he would have been another
first round potential guy. You know, Dallas maybe with their
second pick that they got from Green Bay, maybe they
look at a guy like that, but not a lot
of other comments. I like LJ. Martin from BYU, guy
that a lot of people weren't talking about, but I
think could work himself into a Day two pick. Smothers.
I agree with Tony He's he's a good late Day

(24:20):
two kind of guy, you know, change a pay back,
but he's been very impressive this year. So you know,
another of the Smothers brothers for those old people like me,
you know, could could could get back in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
All right, Tony, how about your guys that have not
really impressed, including the guy that was and still I
don't know if he still is, but he was the
number one back on your list when the season began.

Speaker 4 (24:42):
That would be CJ. Baxter and CJ. Baschler, like Utravian Wisner,
both Texas backs. I mean, they've been hit and missed.
They've been inconsistent, They've been injured, especially Baxter has not
been able to return from the injury that sidelined him
last season. Wisner's been up and down. He's spectacular times,
but he struggle with injuries. He struggled with consistency. So
I think both of those guys have fallen. Nick Singleton

(25:07):
of Penn State. I mean, coming into the season, scouts
had Nick Singleton of Penn State grated much higher than
his teammate k Tron Allen, and Allen has outplayed him.
I mean Singleton doesn't even have three hundred yards rushing
this year. Penn State offensive line has been hit and
miss They've been a little bit inconsistent. But I don't
think Singleton has lived up to what scouts thought, which

(25:27):
was the potential Day two, maybe second round choice. He's
obviously fallen. Kay Hughes well from Oregon, who a lot
of people thought coming into the season was gonna be
one of the big transfers, one of the big stars
of the transfer portal going from TWU Lane to Oregon.
People had him graded highly as a top potential top
sixty pick. He wasn't getting the playing time. He's decided

(25:50):
to red shirt. He's not gonna play this year. Who
knows where he's gonna play next year. Will he be
back at Oregon? But I think McKay hughes has definitely fallen.
And Jade Nott of Oklahoma. This is actually a two
year story because if you follow the scouting process at all,
jad and Knott was highly rated by scouts coming into
the twenty twenty four season when he played at California,

(26:10):
had some injuries, he was hit or miss transfers to Oklahoma,
Jim Nagy brings him over. There was a big celebration
where he got there and he barely sees the field.
He hasn't made any impact at all for Oklahoma. So
you're talking about Jayde not coming into this twenty twenty
four season as a potential middle round choice right now,
Jade and not is not going to get drafted.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, no, I'm agree. And Wisner, the only thing I'll
say is Wisner to me, he was kind of a
late day two guy anyway. But when he is decisive,
he's really good. But he will dance, and you know,
we don't want him to dance with our dates, as
they said in Animal House. We want him to get upfield,
be decisive and when he does that, he's pretty good.

(26:53):
So I think he's still in that late day two category.
But you know, he is not ascended as much. Maybe
is you know, I thought maybe some people thought and
and so I think he's you know, on that if
he's gonna be a riser slider, he's gonna be a
little bit of a slider. But I think he's got
real potential when when he decides that he wants to
get after it.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
You know, Chad, just give me your overall thoughts on
the running back class in general. And then how about
that second Penn State running back He was pretty much
taken over that that that starting job.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
I think. I think he's been pretty impressive too.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
Yeah, Catron is what he is. I mean, he's not
gonna be fast. He's a powerful guy, and I think, look,
he's not quite in the camp Scataboo and I hate
what a terrible injury that that kid had. But I
mean he's kind of in that thing where you get
him in the third or fourth round. He's gonna bully people.
And he's got some decent feet too, So I think

(27:46):
he can be a really solid NFL running back. It's
a solid class. I'm not gonna say it's a great class.
You've got some guys, like I said, L J. Martin
from b YU, Jeremiah Cobb from Auburn start kind of
to come on, Cam Cook from Jacksonville State, talk about
some other group of six guys. But he's really he
leads a nation in rushing. He came from TCU where
he led that sort of anemak TCU rushing attack. But

(28:09):
he's really good. I think more people will start talking
about him coming in if he decides to come out
in this class. But there's a lot of really solid guys.
But it's not a great class.

Speaker 2 (28:19):
To me, all Right, let's go over to the tight
ends here, boys and Tony. You got two guys in
your risers category. One we've talked about a lot of
Eli Stowers out a Vanderbilt really fun player. The other
one we have I don't think we've mentioned on the
show once yet this year. So who are you the
two tight ends that do you think have really helped
themselves this year?

Speaker 4 (28:35):
Well, yeah, you mentioned Stowers, who came to Vandervelt by
way of New Mexico State was good in twenty twenty four.
There was some questions as to whether he's going to
enter the draft. I was told he signed a nice,
big nil deal which brought him back to Vanderbilt, which
is having a terrific season despite the lass to Texas
this past Saturday. I mean, a real good, move past
catching type of tight end that you're gonna put in

(28:57):
motion before the snap of the ball. You're gonna line
Hi up in the slot, catches the ball extremely well.
The production isn't great, it's not bad thirty eight receptions,
five hundred and forty three yards for four tds. But
they spread the ball around a lot in Vanderbilt, so
he's not going to be the primary target. But he's
done well when he's been called upon. The other kid
who I've liked before the season Canner Cozeal of Houston

(29:18):
by way of ball State. Last year at ball State
caught ninety four passes for eight hundred and thirty nine
yards with eight tds. This year at Houston forty eight receptions,
five hundred yards, five tds. He came into the season
great as a late round pick by scouts. I like
him a lot more than a late round pick. He's
a little bit more than a moved tight end. He's

(29:39):
not a great blocker, but he can blocked. You can
put him on the liner scrimmage as a blocker, you
can put him in motion, and he's a terrific pass catcher.
I mean he's like a receiver playing in the tight
end position. I think Cozeal is a guy that's going
to get a lot of chatter as we moved towards
the draft. Just a real good pass catching tight end
that can also block.

Speaker 2 (29:58):
You know, John, I want to get your thoughts on
both those guys. I want to start stour Zobeus. I
watched him again this morning. I compare it to what
I read about what I wrote about him off his
twenty twenty four tape. You know, runs well after the catch,
runs powerfully, breaks tackles, really.

Speaker 1 (30:12):
Good in space, good hands.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
He a couple jobs this year, but generally he's a
pretty good hands catcher, but not not you know, his
his route running. I'm not gonna call it lazy, but
he's not like breaking off his routes at the top.
And he's fast and he still gets open, but I
do think he's still a little raw in that area.

Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah, former quarterback, So you like that for a lot
of you know, receiver slash tight end guys. You like
to see that quarterback experience in his background. But yeah,
his hands aren't exemplary, but he is a lot of
fun after the catch. You know, you could say he's
in that Evan Ngrim kind of dion. I'm not saying

(30:50):
he's gonna be like a first round pick, but he's
that kind of guy. And so I think top fifty
he's gonna land in there and be a real you know,
maybe he I don't know if he's white as polished
as a Sam Laporta, but like you get that sense
that he could be a real weapon for somebody, and
it's so hard with tight ends to look at production.
You know, Tony mentioned that Tanner had you know, a

(31:11):
huge year at ball State because he's all they had.
And a lot of these tight ends just don't get
a ton of catches like Joe Royer from from Cincinnati
for example. It's pretty good tight end. They're not going
to throw them a ton and and I think that
kind of gets in the way sometimes they can't all
be harold fan and getting one hundred, you know, touches

(31:32):
a year. So I think, uh, the guy Tony's mentioned,
another guy just mentioned quickly is de Quon Wright from Ole,
miss A big body guy. He's really turned it up
this year in that offense. And I think you you
could be talking late day two, early day three from
him now. So I really like, you know, I think
he's done a lot.

Speaker 4 (31:49):
Yeah, really good athlete. I mean he is impressive on film.
You know, you go back to what I said, you know,
you confirm he just wasn't getting a lot of targets
a Mississippi especially last year. He's getting more this year
and he's cashing in for him.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
A Hi, Tony, what tight ends do you think have
not helped himselves so far this year?

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Well one because of the injury. John Michael Gillenborg of
Wyoming was highly rated by scouts coming into the year,
potential third round pick early Day three. So only played
three games the season, it's got eleven receptions. From a
size speed point of view, you know, he is definitely
a top one, one hundred twenty guy, just hasn't had
the production because of the hasn't had the opportunity that,

(32:29):
I should say because of the injuries. And then Jack
Veiling of Michigan State. Two years ago when he was
at Oregon State, Veiling looked like he was going to
be a potential superstar at the tight end positions. The
sophomore at Oregon State average fifteen point one yards per
catch eight tds. I think on the thirty five or
forty catches, his game is regressed. I mean, he's not

(32:50):
getting the opportunity. He's had some injuries, but his game
has not taken off as people thought. And Villain comes
into the season as a mid day three type of prospect.
Right now, he's not gonna get drafted.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
Yeah, anybody else?

Speaker 4 (33:07):
Yeah, No.

Speaker 3 (33:07):
Notes from that, You know a lot of the guys
have been what they are and unless we've mentioned. You know,
production is tough with tight ends. Even if they're good players,
they can kind of get lost in the shuffle on
offenses sometimes and and then they go to the NFL
and become stars, like George Kittle, you know, barely got
the ball at Iowa and then he turns into a star.

(33:29):
So yeah, that's it's a it's a I would say
it's a pretty solid group though. This year, I think
you're gonna find guys throughout the whole draft, So I
think teams are going to be looking a lot of
some real guys in Day two, early Day three. They're
going to contribute immediately.

Speaker 4 (33:46):
I don't I don't see any first round tight ends.
But I think once you get to the the late
part of Day two, the third round or late part
I'm sorry, late part of round two, third round, fourth round,
you get you're gonna get some decent eyes who can
produce at the next level.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
A lot of people are talking about Kenyon Sadig from
Oregon as a first round guy, and I don't see that.
I think he's kind of too consistent, inconsistent, but he's
a really good athlete, so he's gonna get picked sometime
in the second round and in me turned into something
they're pretty good.

Speaker 2 (34:16):
And you know, this is one of those years, Chad
with it. It's very unsettled at the top of this draft.
So I think we can say I don't see this
guy as a first round player. Well guess what thirty
two guys have to go in the first round. Yeah,
so even if they're not a first round player, you
have to fit thirty two with that. And I think
we might run into that where we get I forget
who we're talking to.

Speaker 1 (34:33):
We're talking to Renner. I think it was right Tony
when he was doing his first like his mid.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
Season mock draft, and he goes, I got to pick twenty,
and I'm running out of guys that I feel good
about putting the first round of this thing.

Speaker 3 (34:42):
There are ten to twelve guys that are mock drafts
right now in the first round that won't be there.
That's just kind of the way it is every year.
And it can be worse than last year. Fourteen to
sixteen guys you know, ended up not being So it's
a it's an open, uh certainly open conversation for or
Thursday Night picks.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
Right now, they have no question, all right, let's look
at the wide receivers, Tony. This was a very unsettled
wide receiver class to begin the year, but there have
been a number of guys that have stepped up and
I think really made their case for being either the
top wide receiver overall or just first round picks in general.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
Yeah, Chris Braisel, I think there'll be some discussion about it,
but I think he's really helped himself more than anybody.
Transfer from helped me out here chat. I believe it
was too late where he had a productive season was
okay last year. Has really has really improved his game
this year. The thing about Brasel that I want to
watch is how we tests if he tests before the draft,

(35:39):
assuming he answers the draft, especially the forty time and
the ten time, because to me, it doesn't look like
he gets off the line of scrimmage all that quickness.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
He's very long. That's how it is with those call guys.

Speaker 4 (35:49):
Man, So that's gonna be interesting. But he's definitely helped himself.
Carnell Tate. I mean, we saw it last year, especially
in the playoffs. We've seen it this year. We saw
it on Saturdays Penn State. The guy just produces. I mean,
he's not a big play guy, but he's an important
play guy when they need a big third down reception.

(36:09):
You know, when it's second and eight, he's got the
reception for ten or twelve yards. He makes a lot
of good catches in the end zone. You know, is
he this year's a Mecca Buka where he's gonna slide
into the late part of round one. I think that's
a possibility. Amark Cooper has been incredible this year for
Indiana eight tds almost fifteen yards per catch. He is

(36:30):
really their big play receiver compared to Elijah sat who's
more the possession type guy guy we talked about last week.
Skylar Bell of Yukon, I think it's gonna be a
very solid mid round pick. He just produces when the
balls in the air Ponis. Now it's very likely with
a Skylar Bell they can't stop him. Seventy four receptions,
nine hundred and ninety four yards with eleven TVC this season,

(36:53):
and there's still three games left, So he's really He
came into the season greated as a bottom half of
Day three picks. I think he's moving towards the fourth round.
Who knows what will happen with testing, and I gotta
throw a small school guy guy in here, Jared Richardson
out of pen, big strong possession, wide out, the guy
who's gonna win out for the contested throw the red

(37:15):
zone target fifty three receptions, eight hundred and seventeen yards,
nine t ds. This year, he goes six to two
hundred and sixteen pounds. Speed is the question with him.
I don't know that he's gonna run under four to six.
If he gets under four or five to five, he
goes to a place like the he goes to a
game like the Shrine Bowl and does well in practices,
I think he could slide into the very late rounds.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
Chall your thoughts on those guys and any of the
wide receivers that have really jumped out to you this year.

Speaker 3 (37:40):
Yeah, I think a guy that's interesting as Chris Bell
from Lovelle, and I think people knew about him coming
into the year, But I wonder how high that guy
could go. He's gonna run fast at two hundred and
fifty twenty pounds. He's he's really he's been one of
the reasons why Millon Moss's look pretty good too. I
mean he's he's quite a target. I love Jeremy Bernard

(38:01):
from Alabama and he's not getting a ton of touches
right now, but I think he's a guy that might
be a better pro even than he is in college.
I just like is after the catchability. I think he's
a tough receiver. I don't There's a lot of guys
that are question mikes. Isaiah Horton from Alabama can make
a lot of plays not getting a ton of touches

(38:21):
now either, a lot of small guys in the SEC,
Eric Singleton, Aaron Anderson, these guys, I'm not sure if
they're gonna come out this year or not, but there's
gonna be some Day two value at this position. I
think this year even and look at mock drafts, I'm
kind of just playing around with them. I could have
see six guys going in the first round at wide receiver,
and then the depth is there too, but we'll see.

(38:43):
It's going to depend on team needs and stuff, and
it just it's gonna play out. But there's a lot
of names there that I think are gonna contribute at
the next level.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yeah, and look that always happen as a wide receiver,
right you know, there's just a million wide receivers out there.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
That's kind of how it goes every year.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
But Tony, you know three guys that you think have
not helped themselves this year.

Speaker 4 (39:01):
Had three guys who I think their play college play
was better prior to this year, their junior years, even
their sophomore seasons. The jan Stribling of Mississippi, transferred from
Oklahoma State, was given very high Day two grades from
scouts coming in the season. He's been basically invisible twenty
five twenty five receptions this season for Ole Miss. They

(39:22):
haven't needed him. You know, Chad talked about the tight
end who's doing a great job, but I think more
was expected from Stribling, both from Mississippi as well as
in the college scouting world. Barrion Brown, who again thirty
six catches at LSU this year with a decent Quarterback's
best football was actually two years ago when he played
at Kentucky, so I think he's disappointed. And Trevor Penya,

(39:45):
who was a really good receiver at Syracuse transferred to
a Penn State. He's been very hit and miss again,
a guy who had mid Day three grades coming into
the season. Maybe he gets drafted late, that's questionable at
this point.

Speaker 3 (40:00):
Jet Yeah, Pinia's got the returnability which I think could
get him drafted at some point, but I think pretty
much everybody at Penn State. Yeah, it's kind of been
a slider this year. So yeah, you know, I mentioned
Nick Harbor, you know, from South Carolina, is another guy
that just hasn't become the all round receiver that we

(40:21):
thought maybe he could with Laura Sellers this year. But yeah, otherwise, yeah,
that's sounds like about the good list for me.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
Your looks Harbor looks like he can continually looks like
a track guy trying to play receiver. I know, given
up track and field, you know, go football to play
football full time. It just has not made that transition.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
So I guess the question is what round will the
Raiders pick him in? Is Is that what we're going.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
To try to figure out?

Speaker 4 (40:48):
How Davids is it making the picks anymore?

Speaker 3 (40:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
Exactly, James, Jet, No doesn't get you excited, Uh, Chad,
you six wide receivers could go in the first round.
To follow up, what type of receivers were we talking
about in this draft? Is it a lot of smaller
slot guys. Is it bigger guys is a good mix?
What's the kind of the the the character of this
group in terms of what people might need, is they

(41:12):
try to kind of fill out their basketball team and
wide receiver.

Speaker 3 (41:15):
Yeah, I mean, I think you've got when you when
you're looking at Jordan Tyson, Denzel Boston, Carnel Taate, Chris Bell.
All of these guys have size and the speed to
make in the NFL. So that's why I'm saying these guys,
you know, could all go Round one and then Look,
Makay Lemon didn't have a great week last week, but

(41:36):
at times he's looked very good this year at USC.
I'm not gonna say he's graded like Molik Neighbors, but
he's got that.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
I'm not big, but I can play big kind of game,
and I think he could become a really good player
in the NFL. And he's looked really good at times.
So that's another guy. Bryce Lance. Look, don't write this
guy off as a top, you know, late first round pick.
I think he is really dynamic and I think he's
gonna get There's always that one receiver at the end

(42:06):
of the first round that maybe shouldn't be there and tall.
If he shows the speed, he's got to show the speed.
But if he does, he could take the top off defenses.
There's a lot of guys and Brezels. As Tony mentioned,
I wouldn't take him around one. But again there's always
that Quinton Johnson, Jonathan Baldwin. This guy's that maybe end

(42:28):
up sneaking into round one because they're a size, speed guy. Well,
we'll see how that plays.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Out, Yeah we will. All right, let's go to the
offensive line.

Speaker 2 (42:36):
Tony, you have a pretty long list of risers here
at the offensive line spot.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Who do you like so far this year that do
you think you've really helped themselves?

Speaker 4 (42:43):
Which is surprising because as we talked about it, our
opinion is the offensive tackle class specifically has not panned
out the way we had thought. I think Spencer, for
a lot of people were not sold on him as
a first round pick. I think he's established himself as
a first round pick. I think guys Isaiah World to
transfer from Nevada has done a terrific job at Oregon.

(43:05):
He's long, he shows athleticism, he's got long arms, and
he's got a lot of real good past protecting traits.
That you want, and a left tackle did a terrific
job as we spoke about against Penn State. I think
that's the guy that's helped himself. Trevor Gooseby, only because
he's playing weekend and week out. Trevor Gooseby of Texas,
who last year filled in when Calvin Banks and Cam

(43:27):
Williams went down with injury. I think he's done a
real good job. He has helped himself. Cayden Green, the
left tackle from Missouri who projects to guard the next level.
A lot of scouts really like him a lot. I
think he's jumped up on the draft boards as to
being a Day two prospect. And then one of my
personal favorites, Lyndon Cooper of Pittsburgh. A shorter center, he's

(43:48):
under six foot two. Came into the season great as
a priority free agent, but he is a terrific player.
He's quick, he's strong, he's smart. He's good at the
line of scrimmage, but he gets out on the second level,
shows the ability to take out linebackers, hit a movie
target blocking emotion. I think all those guys, I don't
think anyone's made a massive jump up boards. You know,

(44:09):
we talked about Chris Grazzle where no one was now
where no one was talking about him before the season.
I don't see any guy like that at the offensive
line position, but there have been some players that have
helped themselves.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
I really like Cayden Green before the season, and I
had him as a top twenty guard. I think he
could be the Elijah Vera Tucker of this draft in
terms of a guy that had to play tackle at
some point in this college career because they didn't have
a lot of options. Keegan Trust on the other side
for Missouri has been pretty good this year, but he's

(44:43):
the right tackle, only they weren't going to shove him
over the rough side. So I like him. I think
he's he's gonna move to guard as you said, and
be really strong. And like you said, I think most
of the guys pretty much are what they are in
this class tackles. I think there's some really good ones,
not a lot of guys. Carter Smith from Indiana left
tackles been pretty good. Ohio State's left tackle has been

(45:06):
pretty good too. I don't know if they're gonna come out,
but boy, they've they've Those two guys have kind of
stood out as guys that have jumped up as juniors.
But for the most part, yeah, it hasn't been a
lot of huge risers.

Speaker 4 (45:18):
Let me ask you about Carter. Let me ask you
about Calrter Smith. Do you think he's a left tackle
on Sunday? Do you think he kicks inside the guard?

Speaker 3 (45:23):
I think it's possibly kicks inside but I've said that
about other guys and they just managed to be tough
enough to stay out there even though they don't have
great length, great height, some of that stuff, you know.
I think he's got a shot. I think he's one
of those guys. I try him and if it doesn't
work out that, I'm happy to put him inside.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
And Chad. That seems to be a theme with this class.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
I think we see a lot of these offensive tackles
in college this year, and I think Canaan Proctor out
of Alabama might be one of them. Where you know,
college you and get away with playing tackle, but in
the pros you might have to move inside.

Speaker 3 (45:56):
Yeah, and you know, some of the things that make
it difficult for you to play outside can give you
trouble inside too, because the interior lineman in the NFL
are a different breed in terms of their quickness and
strength and size. So it's not automatic that it works
out if you move inside. But that's why a guy
like Isaiah World, I mean, he's just so big. Andy

(46:18):
Reid just gonna love that kid, and it's just a
matter whether he takes in the first round or second round. Yeah,
but uh, you know, I just that's why guys like
that survive, just because even if they aren't great with
their feet, they could They're just hard to get around.
So yeah, I think a guy like World could could
go pretty high.

Speaker 1 (46:38):
All right, Tony, to give me your sliders here.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
And I know the guy in the top of this list,
it just breaks your heart to have to talk about
him here, I mean, ze Vie Chaplin.

Speaker 4 (46:45):
I think a lot of people, including myself, yours Julie
talked about him as a potential top fifteen, top ten pick.
The left tackle from Auburn who came from Virginia Tech.
He's basically been a human penalty flag this year. He
can't stay on side. I mean, he's play has been
going got worse and worse and worse to the point
where he's got to go back. If it's not the
Auburn who's been in the midst of a coaching change.

(47:06):
He's got to go back because I still think he's
a day through pick because of the traits, because of
his previous played off at Virginia Tech. He's been terrible
this year. Blake Miller, like most of Clemson offensive tackle there,
right tackle, maybe a middle round guy. He's been very inconsistent,
very up and down, as has been that Clemson team.

(47:27):
And then Ethan on one Wah, I don't even know
I've pronounced that right. Nobody knows about him. Transferred from
to Ohio State from Rice. Came into the season great
as a potential mid round pick by scouts, hasn't seen
in the field. He's been a backup. So he just
by the fact that he hasn't been able to break
into the starting lineup at Ohio State, who's got a

(47:49):
good thing going on that offensive line and that offense
just gonna hurt his draft stock.

Speaker 3 (47:54):
And it kills me about drewce Shelton because I think
Drew Shelton is a good player at Penn State. He's
a good left ackle. Last week you saw against Ohio
State he was not able to cut off Rvl Race
on the wide nine. Just wasn't able to get there.
Now now the quarterback is very inexperienced, and if he
is able to step up and move to the left

(48:14):
instead of always bailing to the right and moving backwards,
maybe Reese doesn't get those sacks right. So, but Drew
Shelton hasn't been He's athletic, but he's not hasn't finished
as much as he likes so. And I really liked
him coming in the season. But like chaplain, but it
just hasn't. It hasn't. It hasn't really worked out the
way we thought.

Speaker 4 (48:32):
And here's the thing about Shelton, and I would agree
with you. We're gonna we're gonna talk about that in
our review of the game. His forte is the athleticism
is the ability to slide off the edge is past
protection is the ability to shut down speed rushers. And
he got hammered on Saturday, just got hammered, which is
really disconcerned because he's not a moiler. He is not
a straight ahead, power blocking run guy. He's not a

(48:55):
guy that you can say, okay, well you let him
a few sacks here. We have we have the running,
the run blocking to back it up. No, he's the
guy that's got to get off the edge, or whose
fourth day is getting off the edge and pass protection,
and he got shamed Saturday.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
On most occasions, Draft Season is presented by Moody's, a
prop bound partner of the New York Giants, uniting the
brightest minds to turn today's risk into tomorrow's opportunities.

Speaker 1 (49:18):
Learned more at moodies dot com. All right, guys, we's
got a few minute lots.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
Let's look ahead briefly to this week's games in college
football Tonal. We just talked about Penn State a bunch here,
but they're taking on Indiana this week, and all these
games we had circled before the year. Penn State are
huge game against Ohio State, a huge game against Indiana.

Speaker 1 (49:33):
All of a sudden, they just don't have much luster.

Speaker 4 (49:35):
Well, you know, I know that Chad, you don't want
to talk about this because he talked about Drew Shelton
and the Indiana defense plays over their heads. I mean,
Mikle Camara is small, he's not fast, he doesn't grab
a great bulk, but the guy plays a million miles
an hour hour and he could cause Drew Shelton some headaches.
And if he closed Duce Shelton headaches Camara, who is

(49:57):
a late round pick as a pass rush specialist out
of Yeah May because Drew Shelton causes Drew Shelton headaches
on Saturday, that's gonna be another major red flag. I
think the Fernando Mendoza, Elijah Shirot Almar Jones matchup against
what should be or what has been at times a

(50:17):
good Penn State secondary is one I'd like to watch.
But then that Penn State secondary got exposed by Ohio
State big time last week, so I don't know that
that matchup. It's Penn State secondary who's got played, who
have players back during NFL prospects really have to rebound
or Mendoza and the Indiana offense will pick him apart.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
What about that game strikes you, Chad?

Speaker 4 (50:42):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (50:43):
I love Tyreek Tucker, the defensive tackle from Indiana. One
of these guys believe that came over from James Addison
with signetti and guy's six foot tall. Maybe okay, but
he is a force inside. And if Ione the guard
from Penn State who hasn't looked quite as good this year,

(51:04):
and Senor Nick Dawkins don't watch out. Tucker is going
to be through them in a in a hurry. And
DeAngelo Ponds from Indiana is a small corner, but he
sort of reminds me of Mike sant Astril, who came
out last year was pick fiftieth overall. It's sort of
a nickel so I would be very interested to see
if Pons can make some plays in this game Indiana,
like you said, they're playing over their head on defense.

(51:27):
Aiden Fisher linebacker's gonna get drafted. Lewis Moore safety is
gonna get drafted because he makes plays all over the place.
So Indiana's got a lot of guys on that defense
to watch, and if Penn State doesn't get it together,
it could be a long game for him.

Speaker 4 (51:41):
And Ponds is a guy to watch. I agree with you,
he's gonna be a very good nickel corn at the
next leve one. If he's four inches taller, we're talking
about him as his first round pick. But he stays
on the receiver's hit out of brakes, got terrific ball skills.
He's just short and stuff to miss. It's a mismatch
going up against those six with two receivers, although it's
not due to lack of effort because he is a

(52:02):
feisty corner that will battle.

Speaker 2 (52:05):
All right, Chad, let's let's lead. Let's let you lead
off your Texas A and M Missouri. What kind of
what are the matchups and players in that game that
you lokward to seeing.

Speaker 3 (52:12):
This is gonna be great. This is gonna be great
when Texas A and M have the ball, Trey Zuon,
Demetrius khanover on the two tackle spots facing Damon Wilson
and Zion Young on the edge. That's gonna be fantastic.
You're talking about four guys that are gonna be in
the first four rounds of the draft probably. That's gonna
be a lot of fun. And then the other thing

(52:33):
is uh, Cassius Howell defensive or edge rusher for Texas
A and M. This guy is creeping up into the
top twenty overall and he's going up against Kayden Green
potentially on the left side for for Missouri. And I
mentioned Keegan tros on the right side. That's gonna be
so there's gonna be some real trench work going on
in this game. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
Tony.

Speaker 4 (52:54):
Yeah, I mean you can see it because Cassius Howell
matchup against Kayden Green is the one that I'm really
looking forward to. And you know, if Kane Green's able
to slow him down, I think you never know. People
may rethink the fact that he's got to move into
guard relan state at left tackle, but it's gonna be
a big challenge, a big opportunity for Green on Saturday.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
All right, final game chat. We'll let you lead off again.
LSU Alabama.

Speaker 3 (53:19):
Ken nuss have the big performance that he needs. Garrett
Nussmeier the quarterback LSU. Can he make the plays? Can
a young offensive line protect him? Can his guys catch
the ball? Can it be a now? Treda Is Green
the tight end. You're gonna see a lot of him.
Unfortunately he is not draft eligible, but that dude can play.

(53:41):
A former basketball player. Ken Nussmeyer look like a pro
quarterback against Alabama's defense. That's really what this game is about,
I think. But there's a lot of other matchups that
we could talk about.

Speaker 4 (53:52):
Tony I'm gonna I'm gonna flip it around. I mean,
Todd Simpson, I'm going up against a good LSU secondary
man short lane, the cornerback who we've talked about a
couple times on this show. I think is really helping
us up. The Virginia Tech transfer safety aj Halsey. Who
any receiver coming up in the middle, Any Alabama receiver

(54:13):
coming over the middle, better be aware, better watch out,
because this guy will take your head off. He is physical,
he is explosive. So I think Tys Simpson is going
to have a real good battle against a very good LSU.
LSU secondary. The rest of the team seems to be
crumbling around. The offensive line is not played well for LSU,
but they are a good secondary.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
Yeah, du Wayne gave up seven touchdowns at Virginia Tech
last year, seven this year. You can't throw against them,
So it's so interesting. I don't know if it's coaching.
I don't know if it's a maturity, but it's really
crazy to see how a guy can be giving up
so many big plays and then just shut everybody down
this year.

Speaker 2 (54:51):
It's it's really interesting, and I think it shows you
how corner can be a position that's very volatile from
year to year, which which makes them kind of so
dangerous to pick.

Speaker 1 (54:58):
Hind the draft. Guys, so much fun, Chad, thank you
so much being with us.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
Tony as always, we appreciate the time and thanks so much, Chad.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
We appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
Yeah, I love being here, I love talking to you guys.
So it has been great. Thanks a lot.

Speaker 1 (55:10):
That's Draft Season presented by Moody's.

Speaker 2 (55:12):
We'll see you next week, everybody, when Ryan Wilson from
CBS joins us to go through Tony's risers and sliders
on defense.